 Is this really the end of muffin week? Don't worry, I'm ending this muffin themed week with a bang - Apple Cinnamon Roll Muffins. I first saw this recipe on cookingclassy.com and it looked so good that I just couldn't pass it up. When I read through the recipe, I realized that this was a yeast dough muffin recipe. I admit that I was a little nervous about how a cinnamon roll dough would translate into a muffin but it looked so good that I just had to try it. So here goes...  Apple Cinnamon Roll Muffins 1/2 cup milk (I used 1%), warmed to 110 degrees 1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast 1/2 cup sour cream 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp salt 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 Tbsp butter, melted 3 - 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour Filling 2 cups (slightly packed) peeled and grated Granny Smith apples (from about 3 medium) 2 tsp lemon juice 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar 1 Tbsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 cup butter, halfway melted Topping 2 Tbsp butter, melted 2 cups powdered sugar 3 - 5 Tbsp reserved apple juice 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Meanwhile, add sour cream, granulated sugar, salt, egg, vanilla extract, vegetable oil and melted butter to bowl of electric stand mixer. Add milk mixture.
Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size (I like to place it in the oven with the light on), about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
Brush top evenly with 1/4 cup butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture and spread into an even layer.
Squeeze 6 Tbsp of the excess liquid from apples into mixing bowl by lifting and pressing grated apples against sides of bowl (or just squeeze in your hands) and reserve juice (you'll be using most of it for the glaze). Sprinkle strained apples evenly over cinnamon sugar layer.
Cut into 12 - 13 rolls and transfer each rolls to paper lined muffin cups (preferably using 2 - 12 hole muffin tins to allow muffin tops room to expand outward). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place 40 minutes, preheating oven to 375 during last 10 minutes of rising.
Brush tops of rolls lightly with butter, then bake in preheated oven 14 - 17 minutes until lightly golden and centers are no longer doughy.
Allow to cool slightly then drizzle with glaze and enjoy warm. In a mixing bowl whisk together 3 tbsp reserved apple juice, powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Add in more apple juice as needed 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.  Ciao!
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 The kids are out of school which is the unofficial start to summer in my house. The calendar may not agree, but in my book summer starts when the kids get out of school and ends when they go back. I am super excited about having them home for a few weeks. Even though they both have summer jobs and lots of activities planned for their vacation, I'm still looking forward to sneaking in some family time this summer. One of my favorite parts of summer vacation is morning time. I love not having to wake my kids up before the sun even comes up. Peaceful, quiet mornings when the kids and I can wake up slowly are so much less stressful than trying to rush everyone out the door by 7:00. I've learned to really appreciate the days when I can truly enjoy the stillness of the morning.  Eating a leisurely breakfast - yet another benefit to summer - is one of the best things about morning. (Let's face it - the thought of breakfast is what gets me out of best most days.) What could be better for breakfast on a warm summer morning than a lemon crumb muffin? Not much really. This recipe came from justapinch.com. It is fabulous.
Lemon Crumb Muffins 6 cups all-purpose flour 4 cups sugar 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 8 eggs 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream 2 cups butter, melted 3 tablespoons grated lemon peel 2 tablespoons lemon juice TOPPING: 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed GLAZE: 1/2 cup confectioners sugar 1/3 cup lemon juice
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
In a small bowl, whisk glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm muffins. Serve warm.
 Ciao!
 Muffin week continues with a Nutella Banana Swirl Muffin recipe today. My kids LOVE nutella but I rarely buy it just to keep it stocked in the panty. It's one of those things that seems like it should be a treat and not something that you eat every day. To be honest, it's more for my benefit that I don't buy it because I think I would eat it every single day if it was available to me every single day.
This banana nutella muffin recipe was the perfect excuse to buy some Nutella - you know, for the kids. I was super excited to try and swirl it into a banana muffin - and to eat the leftovers on some whole wheat toast.  Nutella Banana Swirl Muffins 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 large egg 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract nutella
In large bowl, whisk together banana, sugar, brown sugar.
Top each muffin with about 1 teaspoon of Nutella and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter.
 Oh yea baby. These banana nutella muffins taste just as good as they look. I think they were all eaten while they were still warm out of the oven.
Ciao! Happy Memorial Day!!!  I hope that you are celebrating this special holiday with your family and friends. After a busy weekend full of graduation activities, I am certainly going to take some time to relax and rest this afternoon. I am so excited about this week on the blog because its MUFFIN WEEK!!! It's true - six straight days of brand new, delicious muffin recipes!  To kick off muffin week, I am posting a recipe for strawberry cheesecake streusel muffins from therecipecritic.com. I don't know what to say other than - they are amazing. Not your average muffin.  Strawberry Cheesecake Streusel Muffins 2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 egg 1/4 cup canola oil 1 cup whole milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups strawberries cut into small pieces Cream Cheese Filling 4 ounces cream cheese 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 tbsp beaten egg 1 tsp vanilla extract Cinnamon Streusel 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 3 tbsp butter
Sprinkle some of the streusel topping on the cheesecake filling, followed by another layer of the muffin batter.
Add a few pieces of strawberries on the top and lastly sprinkle with the cinnamon streusel.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool into the pan for 5 minutes and transfer them to a wire rack.   These cupcakes make a great Memorial Day treat. Enjoy.
Ciao!  I can't say that I wasn't warned but good grief - senior activities have taken over our life this month. How in the world did graduating from high school turn into an all consuming month long schedule of events for the entire family? Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining because I am enjoying every moment of it but I will say that our meals have suffered a little bit lately due to lack of time. I found a great QUICK recipe for grilled chicken in my fresh and fabulous magazine a couple weeks ago that was perfect for our hectic schedule this month. It requires no marinating, it used ingredients that I already had on hand AND my family loved it. This one is definitely a keeper.  Grilled Chicken 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 2 Tablespoon shallots, minced 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon minced thyme 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard salt and pepper 3 Tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes 1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco 4 chicken breasts 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Drizzle with vinaigrette.  Serve with grilled veggies - drizzled with the same vinaigrette.  This was a super yummy dinner - even on the busiest of weeknights. Both kids ate this up too - even without scraping off the vinaigrette. (Wonders never cease.)
Ciao! |
